Best Young Master
Chapter 218 - 194 [Joke? Glory!]

Chapter 218: Chapter 194 [Joke? Glory!]

At eight o’clock in the evening, after the autumn rain had stopped, the renowned Ao Xiang Villa in Dong Hai was brightly lit. The large courtyard of Villa No. 1 had been transformed into a mourning hall, where the bodies of Situ Chen, Fei Si, and Liu Tianjun, after being cleaned and made up, lay in suits and shoes inside three crystal coffins.

In front of the coffins, there was a rectangular table displaying the portraits of the three men, with Situ Chen in the middle, flanked by Fei Si and Liu Tianjun on either side.

In front of the portraits stood an incense burner filled with hundreds of incense sticks, the smoke permeating the air.

Situ Ruoshui, clad in hemp and wearing mourning attire, knelt in front of Situ Chen’s portrait, staring blankly at the image, motionless.

Under the light, one could clearly see her delicate porcelain doll-like face covered with tear stains, her eyes red from crying, swollen as if they were panda eyes.

She had been crying for a full twelve hours.

Yet despite this, tears continued to flow from her eyes like a dam burst, slowly sliding down her exquisite cheeks.

The sight of her heartbreaking grief was pitiful to behold.

"Ruoshui, the dead cannot be brought back to life; don’t be too sad, take care of your health." Su Liuli, standing beside Situ Ruoshui, saw that her tears would not stop and could not help but comfort her again.

She had arrived at Ao Xiang Villa in the afternoon and learned of Situ Ruoshui’s misfortune.

Since the afternoon until now, she had tried to comfort Situ Ruoshui no less than twenty times, but Situ Ruoshui, as if she had lost her soul, did not stop crying or even acknowledge her.

It was the same this time.

Situ Ruoshui seemed not to hear what Su Liuli said, her face indifferent as tears continued to fall.

Seeing this, Su Liuli couldn’t help but sigh. She was about to say something when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning her head, she was surprised to see Ye Fan pushing aside the curtain of the mourning hall and entering.

"Ruoshui has been crying for so long, continuing to cry will be too much for both her mind and body, try to persuade her," Su Liuli stood up and said to Ye Fan in a low, anxious voice.

Without responding, Ye Fan’s gaze turned to Situ Ruoshui’s frail figure, his heart aching.

Being an orphan himself from a young age, Ye Fan could empathize with Situ Ruoshui’s feelings.

In his view, Situ Ruoshui had lost her mother when she was a child and had relied solely on Situ Chen. Although Situ Chen was often busy and seldom took care of her, his place in Situ Ruoshui’s heart was irreplaceable by anyone else.

Under such circumstances, for Situ Chen to suddenly leave Situ Ruoshui was undoubtedly a devastating blow to her.

"Her heart hurts; crying it out might make her feel better," Ye Fan withdrew his gaze from Situ Ruoshui and softly told Su Liuli.

"But..."

Su Liuli started to say something but, seeing Ye Fan’s determined face, she abandoned the thought of persuading him further and considered, "Alright. I’ll stay with her and also recite scriptures to help the passage of uncle Situ’s soul."

"Good, call me if you need anything," Ye Fan nodded, then turned and walked out of the mourning hall.

Outside the mourning hall, four men whose clothes were soaked, bowed deeply as they saw Ye Fan emerge.

"You’ve been on guard all day; take turns to eat something," Ye Fan suggested, noticing their completely wet clothes.

"Mr. Ye, we are alright," the leading man spoke up, his expression sorrowful and his voice hoarse.

Hearing this, the other three, with reddened eyes, also shook their heads vigorously.

Seeing this, Ye Fan felt somewhat touched.

After the death of Situ Chen and elders of the Dong Hai Gang, the gang had fragmented. Those core members fought fiercely over territories and had shown no regard for the deceased Situ Chen. In contrast, some of Situ Chen’s friends from the business community had come one after another to pay their respects by burning incense at Ao Xiang Villa.

As for Situ Chen’s friends in the political realm, due to the turmoil within the Dong Hai system, they were powerless to help and dared not even send a wreath.

The four men, who were responsible for the vigil, were subordinates of Fei Si tasked with the security of the Situ family, and they were absolutely loyal to Situ Chen and Fei Si.

Besides them, there were twelve bodyguards of the Situ family stationed at Villa No. 1 and the villa entrance.

"Humans are iron, food is steel; you still need to eat," sighed Ye Fan lightly. "Notify the others to take turns eating, and change your clothes—don’t catch a cold. You’ll need to be strong to attend the funeral for uncle Situ and the others the day after tomorrow."

Hearing the latter part of Ye Fan’s statement, the four men, with tears in their eyes, bit their lips, clenched their fists, and remained silent.

"Go ahead," Ye Fan stepped forward and gently patted the leading man’s shoulder.

"Yes, Mr. Ye!"

With reddened eyes, the leading man bowed to take his orders, then followed Ye Fan’s instructions to rotate for meals and change clothes.

Seeing this, Ye Fan said no more and walked straight towards the main building.

As Ye Fan reached the main building’s hall, he was taken aback to see Chu Ji sitting on the sofa in the hall.

Tonight, she was not wearing her usual favorite red cloak but had switched to a black cloak, which gave her a less charming but more solemn appearance.

"Why did you come?"

Seeing Chu Ji dressed all in black, Ye Fan knew that she had changed her clothes out of respect for Situ Chen.

"Just checking in."

Chu Ji said, "Your dad was also planning to come see you, but he felt the occasion wasn’t right, so he went back to Hanghu directly, asking you to look him up after dealing with things here."

"Understood," Ye Fan nodded.

"Yesterday and today, the Ye Family and the Yanhuang Organization joined forces to pressure others. With a lightning-fast strategy, they took down nearly ten people from the Bai Family Faction. Guan Yi, the Faction’s deputy flag bearer, not only lost his chance for advancement but will also be transferred from Dong hai to a retirement facility next month. It can be said that this time, the Bai Family tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice, suffering heavy losses."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Ji told Ye Fan the latest developments, "In addition, the Yanhuang Organization also teamed up with the police to secretly raid the Nanqinghong’s power in several southern provinces, capturing the leaders from those regions. In Taiwan, under the guise of an investigation, the Yanhuang Organization entered both the Hongwu Sect and the Nanqinghong Headquarters, taking away Lin Tianyi, the Ruler of the Nanqinghong, and the Hongwu Sect Leader."

"However, there’s no evidence to prove that the two were involved in this incident, and the Yanhuang Organization can’t really do anything to them. Especially Lin Tianyi, who is a citizen of the American Alliance and is responsible for the Qinghong Group in the Huaxia Region. He holds various titles, but has a perfectly clean record within the Huaxia Realm; no criminal records at all. It’s expected that as soon as the Yanhuang Organization takes him into custody, his lawyer will launch an appeal; the Yanhuang Organization will have no choice but to release him," Chu Ji added.

"Crack—"

As he listened to Chu Ji’s words, Ye Fan’s mind conjured the pitiful image of Situ Ruoshui. Anger clenched his fists tightly, and his knuckles kept popping.

"Xiao Fan, you mustn’t act impulsively..." Seeing the anger on Ye Fan’s face, Chu Ji felt somewhat worried and couldn’t help but speak out to remind him.

However, before she could finish, Ye Fan interrupted her, "Nanqinghong has calculated against me time and again, trying to put me in a deadly situation, not to mention they killed Uncle Situ and framed my father. Their sins are unforgivable—I will make Nanqinghong disappear from Huaxia!"

"I can understand how you feel, but you mustn’t be impulsive."

Sensing the mad murderous intent emanating from Ye Fan, Chu Ji knew he was determined to annihilate Nanqinghong and once again cautioned him, "You can deal with Nanqinghong, but you must do so within the boundaries allowed by law and rules!"

"Law! Rules!"

Ye Fan’s expression turned grim. Ever since he came down the mountain, he had tried to abide by these, yet he was continually bullied with laws and rules used against him, filling him with frustration.

"Xiao Fan, even if you trample on the law and disregard the rules, using extreme measures to annihilate Nanqinghong might allow you to avoid penalties using your capital, but it would implicate your father," Chu Ji warned.

Swish!

Ye Fan’s expression slightly changed.

"You should know that this time, if it weren’t for you being able to heal the injured consciousness of Situ Ruoshui and Jin Ye, allowing them to regain consciousness and testify for you, your father would have risked his career to save you!" Chu Ji continued.

"He can stay out of it, I can handle it myself," Ye Fan furrowed his brows.

"Do you think that’s possible?"

Chu Ji sighed, "Even if you tell him you have the capital to avoid legal penalties, do you really think he would stand by and watch if you were in trouble?"

Impossible!

An affirmative answer surged in Ye Fan’s heart.

"He wouldn’t stand by; he would do everything in his power to help you and save you."

Chu Ji answered her own question, "This would not only ruin his career, but he would also face skepticism, blame, or even ostracism from other members of the Ye Family, which could lead to an internal strife within the Ye Family! And this is exactly what the Bai Family would be pleased to see!"

After hearing Chu Ji’s words again, Ye Fan fell silent; he had no emotional attachment to the Ye Family, not even a clear concept of it.

He didn’t care whether the Ye Family thrived or fell, but... he couldn’t implicate Ye Wenhao!

He didn’t want to, nor would he let Ye Wenhao risk his career to help him again!

"Through this period of trials, you’ve learned to abide by the law and the rules, and you’ve started to try using them against your enemies,"

Seeing Ye Fan silent and sensing that he didn’t want to involve Ye Wenhao, Chu Ji gradually guided him, "You can use the law and rules to eliminate Nanqinghong, and even help your father deal with the Bai Family!"

Without responding, the murderous look in Ye Fan’s eyes gradually tempered, and his brows slightly raised as he seemed to ponder something.

Seeing this, Chu Ji decided not to add anything more and let Ye Fan digest her words.

"Thank you, Auntie." After a while, Ye Fan came out of his thoughts, completely calm, "I know what to do now."

Auntie.

Hearing these two words, Chu Ji’s heart trembled slightly, but her face showed a relieved smile.

She didn’t know when Ye Fan would truly transform, but she believed that once he did, he wouldn’t be a burden to Ye Wenhao. Instead, he would make Ye Wenhao proud, proving wrong those who mocked them!

"Ye Wenhao will rise to the top because of Xiao Fan, and the Ye Family will flourish because of Xiao Fan!"

As Chu Ji felt reassured, the words of Chu Xuanji echoed in her ears, painting her face with deep anticipation.

She looked forward to that day! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we invite you to vote for it with recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)